House slipper and method of making it



Feb. 22. 1927. 1,618,637

l F. A. BOWE HOUSE SLIPPER AND METHD OF MAKING IT Filed Sept. 29, 1924 hall:

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Patented Feb.` 22, 1927.v

UNITED STATES FREDA. Bovvnor soU'rHBnIDeE, MASSACHUSETTS. j

HOUSE SLIPPER AND METHOD OF MAKING- IT.

Application filed September 29, 1924. Serial No. 740,488.

This invention relates to a house slipper or a slipper of the type sometimes called bed-room slipper. The principal object of this invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a slipper of this type having itsupper formed of sheepskin, With the vvool on itand turned inside in'such a Way that a hard sti sole can be provided instead of the usual soft one and to connect the upper With the solem such a Way that the sole does not have to be trimmed, set or finished after the upper is applied to it and it does not project v.beyond the upper or any point around it. This latter feature is partieularly important in this class of slippers be cause they are voften Worn in bed and the hard sole is important because that extends their use materially so that they can be Worn outdoors or even driving a car. Y Other objects and advantages of the invention will be f setv forth hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanyv ing drawings in Which Fig. 1` is a transverse sectional view ofa slipper as manufactured on the last before it is turned but when it is otherwise completed;

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the turned slipper in the position in which it is to be Worn;

Fig. 3 is a side view ofthe complete slip-y er. Y I )Slippers for this general purpose have been made of the same material vas this one as lfar as the upper is concerned, namely, sheepskin With the Wool on and turned inside to form a soft and Warm slipper, and have been provided with a cuff as l() formed by turning down the top of the slipper. This is an ornamental feature but can be rendered useful by turning it `up in cold Weather to protect the ankle. A detrimental feature about these bed-room slippers as they have been put on the market is that the disguise their real appearance but that is only a small improvement and furthermore the overcast stitches give Way after a short time and the appearance of course is Worse than if they had not been used.

For the purpose of overcoming these difrhard sole Iin vsuch a form that itY does the not project beyond the upper at-any point and iiculties and `more especially providing Vis located entirely Within the actual area of the edge, the upper has been -applied and the shoe turned and then thev sole has been Y trimmed, lset and finished on the complete shoe. This has not been diflicult heretofore becausethe sole projected beyond the upper and Was readily available. for the coloring, finishing and polishing operation.

Another feature of the sole 11 is that I provide it with theusual channel l2 around the edge on the inside flat surface Vbut this channel is narrower than usual and extends up to about 5%,- of an inch of the verticaledge around thissole. This is an important dif-` ference over the usual channel because that is made at a considerable distance from the edge of the sole and avvay inside the edge.

It leaves the edge projecting and -permits rof the trimming and finishing of the Vedge after the slipper is otherwise completed. As it is not known just` how much finish has got to be taken olf at either side or Whether it all has to be takenoffv at one side. it has beennecessary to space this channel very far from the edge.

However, with my method of manufacture, the edge being trimmed and finished to its final form before the sole is channeled, I can make the channel just Where I Want it and have it a uniform distance from the edge all around, as the edge is used as a guide. I can also bring it up substantially .to the edge as shown. These tvvo features of the invention thus c'o-operate to produce a practical slipper for this purpose.

Now I take the upper 13 which consists of the ordinary pieces of sheep-skin with the Wool on it trimmed to a uniform thickness and sew the two pieces together at the front and rear with the rough edges on the Wool side. IVhile in the position in which these seams are sewn, namely With the Wool side out, I place it under the sole ll on the last 14 with its edge projecting over the sole and with the ordinary lnachiner7 well known in this art scw its edge all around thesole in the channel 12 by a row of stitches 15. These stitches are only about a sixteenth of an inch :troni the edge of the sole and they hold the inner edge of the upper `doi-vn to the sole all around and at its extreme edge. For this reason the edge of the sole cannot project out beyond the bottoni of the upper when the shoe is finished as is shown in Fig. Q is taken oit' the last llland turned. An in-1 sole 1G is provided of the saine material as: the upper but there is no hard in-sole and the sole itself consists ot a single piece ol leather. This constitutes an important economy as it avoids the use of two pieces of leather for the hard sole and cutting,r out and handling thein,

The slipper as con'ipleted really has a double purpose.` It serves the purpose of a bed-room or sleeping,r slipper as it can be worn to bed and it has no sole "rejecting out beyond it to tear the bed-clot es or render it uncomfortable to the wearer. It has all the softness inside oi anyv of* the ill-looking bed-room slippers now on the market, but in addition to these features it has an attractive appearance So that it can be `worn in the presence ot others and has a hard enough sole so that it can be `worn for a short trip outfdoors even on cold ground and iturther more the sole ishard and still'I enough so that it can be used in drivingI a car. The method ot' nianufacture is a departure from any@ thing with which 1 ain familiar in this art. Heretoiore the soles have been shaped and trinnned after the shoe was" otherwise coniplete whereas by this method I trim theni. set and place them 'for channeling first and the channeling,r cti-operates with this feature as has been explained above. V

Although I have illustrated and described only one process of lnalnlfacture and one specific slipper I ain aware of the fact that modifications can be made in both without;

which illustrates the slipper after it departing` ['roin the scope er' the invention as expressed in the clainis. Tliereiore I do not wish to be lilnited to all the details ot' construction herein shown and described, but what I do claini isrl. The method of making a house Slipper which consists in first formingy a sole having the exact outline andsize desired, then finishinp,r the edge of said sole as it, to be in thecinnplcted product, channeling' the top surface of the sole in" an outward direction to a line all around the edge as near as pois sible to the finished edge ot the sole, therea't'ter bending the edge o'l an upper around the channel flap and in under itinto said channel and securing it to the channel flap, and then turning the slipper.

The method of niafking a house slipper which consists iir first cutting out a sole, then finishing the edge oi said sole to the size and shape desired for the completed product, channeling the top surilace of the sole to a line all around the edge close to the finished edge ot the sole to forni a channel flap, sewing; the edge of an upper in turned position to said flap and into said channel and on the outer surface thereof, then tru-ning the slip )er to bring the upper out over thewall ot tie channel, and aliiplying an in-sole to the top of the sole over the inner edgre ot the upper and channel flap, said iii-sole beini.,v ol llexible sheep-shin with the wool thereon.

3. As au article ot' manufacture, a house slipper connlirising a solo consisting` of a single piece of' leather having a finished edge and a channel in tlie topi extendingsubstantially to that edge and an upper ot' sheep-skin with the wool` on the ineide sccured at its edge in said channel and extending out over the edge of the sole all around `so that said edge ot the sole cannot project beyond the upper at any point.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto aflfixed nrv signature.

FRED A. BOVE. 

